If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students of Lawton Elementary, we are relieved and happy to hear that Nadia Bloom has been found.
We look forward to her return to her family and friends, and share their joy at her safe recovery.

I'm happy for her family, but something more is going to come out of this.....why did she end up where she was? I know they say she's may be slightly "autistic" but what I know of autistic kids is that they like structure and routine, not wandering off into unknown swamps.

My aunt always said to be careful in Florida because right in the middle of supposedly developed areas are swamps and thickets where they'll never find a body

survivor of the Bowling Green Massacre 9-3-2016 BGSU 10 OSU 77

She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.

I'm happy for her family, but something more is going to come out of this.....why did she end up where she was? I know they say she's may be slightly "autistic" but what I know of autistic kids is that they like structure and routine, not wandering off into unknown swamps.

My aunt always said to be careful in Florida because right in the middle of supposedly developed areas are swamps and thickets where they'll never find a body

This girl had been reading a book on survival in just such an area and even had the book with her when they found her. As the father of a mildly Autistic child, I can testify that these children do not fit the mold one typically thinks of when one hears the term.

I'm happy for her family, but something more is going to come out of this.....why did she end up where she was? I know they say she's may be slightly "autistic" but what I know of autistic kids is that they like structure and routine, not wandering off into unknown swamps.

My aunt always said to be careful in Florida because right in the middle of supposedly developed areas are swamps and thickets where they'll never find a body

It's been a tough week in autism world. It seems like when things can't get worse, they somehow do.

Particularly disturbing this week was the news regarding two children with autism. One is the disappearance of an eleven-year-old girl with autism, Nadia Bloom from her Winter Springs, Florida home. Just this morning, Nadia was found after being missing for five days in a wooded area where there are reportedly ponds and a lake nearby. Children with autism tend to be attracted to water and among children who wander, drowning is the leading cause of death.

And then there's 15-year-old Jeffrey Cooper, also missing since Sunday from his home in Boston. Jeffrey also went missing last December, but fortunately was found safe. For some children, the story does not end well.

The official term for this is "autism elopement" and it happens all over the country, every day. I know very few parents who have a child with autism who at one time or another have not had their children with autism slip away, if only for a few minutes, striking terror into their hearts.

About a year ago, when I thought we were long past the stage when Andrew was a flight risk, it happened to us. I opened the garage door to look at something in the driveway, then closed it and went about working in the kitchen. Apparently, Andrew thought when he heard the door that I had left and he was home alone. He panicked and went out the front door, though very quietly. I didn't hear him leave. After all, he hadn't done anything remotely like this for years, but his new awareness made him realize the garage door sound usually meant someone coming or going.

I don't know how I knew he was out of the house, but it hit me like a freight train. I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling he was gone. I went out through the garage and saw him at the end of the street running as fast as he could around the corner, toward the exit of our neighborhood. A few seconds later and I wouldn't have seen him, and a couple of minutes later, he would surely have been on Mason Road, a busy thoroughfare in Katy where people often drive at 50 mph in excess of the posted speed limit.

I screamed his name and chased him. When I reached him I could see he was obviously terrified. He thought he had been abandoned. To this day, every time we leave the house, we have to tell him explicitly who is in charge of taking care of him, whether it is my husband or one of his older brothers. We sometimes ask him to repeat what we've said so that we are sure he understands he is not going to be left alone.

There's a program to combat wandering related injuries and deaths called Project Lifesaver. Wrist bands with transmitters are worn by children (or in some cases adults, such as those with Alzheimer's) who are at risk of elopement. A receiver is maintained by local law enforcement who are called in an emergency so that they can locate the missing person.
The National Autism Association has a program called FOUND, a program which helps fund the Project Lifesaver program in counties around the country. But funds for FOUND are very scarce. Alternatively, communities can raise their own funds to implement Project Lifesaver. The cost of only one typical search and rescue operation often exceeds by far what the program would cost to maintain for years.

Together, I know we can find a way to get programs in every county to avoid tragic consequences for our children.

Our little dedication to CRPS awareness. If you don't know what this horrible disease is, please click this link to learn more. My (Brett) wife suffers from this extremely painful and debilitating nerve disorder that doctors are just now learning more about and realizing the severity. Please consider donating to help doctors find a cure for what many call the "suicide disease." Thank you!

Like Us On Facebook!

Newest Posts

My only real elementary school memory is my 3rd grade teacher in her yellow leisure suit sitting in the green peas at lunch and finishing out the rest of the day like that. Scarred me for life....